“Malodor” is a term used to describe undesirable or unpleasant odor. Common sources of malodors include body perspiration, smoke, environmental odor such as mold and mildew, bathroom, and etc. Numerous methods have been developed to prevent or reduce malodors in a variety of circumstances. For example, conventional perfumes including a variety of fragrance materials are developed to mask malodors, which generally function via two mechanisms: first, the fragrance materials blend with the malodor compound to provide a different and more desirable aroma; and second, the fragrance materials are employed in a large quantity to overwhelm the malodor compound.
Additionally, certain cyclohexylethyl carboxylic acid ester compounds (VEILEX™ commercially available from International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.) may bind to the same receptors in the nose as the malodor molecules, thereby counteract the perception of malodors by rendering these receptors unavailable to malodor molecules. Unlike fragrance materials, VEILEX™ compounds have relatively low odor and thus advantageously provide malodor control without increasing the overall odor intensity. The combination use of VEILEX™ compounds such as 1-cyclohexylethyl butyrate (“VEILEX™ 1”), 1-cyclohexylethyl acetate (“VEILEX™ 2”), and 1-cyclohexylethanol (“VEILEX™ 3”) for suppressing a range of malodors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,622,221, 6,432,891, and 6,592,813, and published U.S. patent application 2005/0106192.
However, none of the above malodor counteracting methods provides malodor-specific effect. Consequently, to eliminate the perception of a particular malodor effectively, a high amount of malodor counteracting compositions is often required. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a malodor-specific counteractant composition that can be effective at a low amount.
Nothing in the art discloses the effect of any of the aforementioned VEILEX™ compounds against a specific malodor.